Departmental Energy

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the level of consumption on his Department's estate  (a) in total and  (b) per full-time equivalent member of staff in (i) 2005-06 and (ii) 2006-07.

Huw Irranca-Davies: I can confirm that the actual water consumption on the DEFRA office estate and water consumption per full-time equivalent member of DEFRA staff for 2005-06 and 2006-07 are presented in the following table:
	
		
			   Office water consumption (m3)  Office water consumption per FTE (m3) 
			 2005-06 87,518 6.74 
			 2006-07 77,160 6.53

Marine Management Organisation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if he will ensure that all staff in the new Marine Management Organisation will be eligible to apply for the same posts staff in the Marine and Fisheries Agency are eligible to apply for, with particular reference to posts advertised only within his Department;
	(2)  whether staff in the Marine Management Organisation will be eligible to apply for all posts in the Department for Energy and Climate Change.

Huw Irranca-Davies: There is an established scheme by which non-departmental public bodies, such as the new Marine Management Organisation (MMO), can be accredited to have access to civil service vacancies. My officials are applying for such accreditation on behalf of the MMO to become effective when the organisation is vested. Initial enquiries reveal that there is no reason why this should not be granted. This will enable MMO staff to apply, on merit, for civil service posts via the civil service 'Jobs Online' facility.
	MMO staff will be able to apply for DEFRA vacancies that are advertised on the 'Jobs Online' site in the same way that MFA staff currently can. Similarly, staff in the MMO will be able to apply for posts in the Department for Energy and Climate Change advertised on 'Jobs Online' in the usual way.
	The Cabinet Office Statement of Practice (COSOP) which governs the transfer of civil servants between Departments, suggests that departments should provide an opportunity for staff to return to their original department if they wish. The MFA is currently exploring with DEFRA how this opportunity might be provided to MMO staff in the future.

Jobcentre Plus: Manpower

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what roles he expects the planned aditional 6,000 Jobcentre Plus staff to fill.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves dated 20 May 2009:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what roles we expect the planned additional 6,000 Jobcentre Plus staff to fill. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	In line with the recent Budget announcements, Jobcentre Plus will be able to recruit up to 10,000 more staff. This is on top of the 6,000 new staff already announced in Pre Budget Report. Some 6,000 staff have been recruited between October 2008 and April 2009.
	All of this new resource will be applied to customer-facing services. More than half of these will be Personal Advisers with the rest in customer intervention and support roles within our customer service operations.

Equality: Legal Costs

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what the cost of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) intervention in the case of  (a) Basildon District Council  v. McCarthy and Others [2009] EWCA and  (b) Baker and Others  v. Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and the London Borough of Bromley was; and which barristers were retained by the EHRC in relation to each case.

Maria Eagle: :
	Cost—£13,605.00 including VAT
	Barristers—Robin Allen QC and Catherine Casserley.
	:
	Cost—£7,840.00 including VAT
	Barrister—Robin Allen QC.

Child Tax Credit: Underpayments

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps HM Revenue and Customs has taken to inform people in cases where their child tax credits have been underpaid; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 15 May 2009
	 Tax credits is an annual system which is designed to be responsive to changes in families' circumstances. This is particularly important when income falls and around 355,000 households who were living on a lower income in March receiving on average £35 more per week in tax credits.
	HMRC calculates an initial award for claimants based on their income for the previous year and their current family circumstances. Awards can be adjusted if claimants tell the Department of a change in their circumstances during the year. After the end of a year, HMRC sends tax credits customers an annual renewal pack asking them to provide or confirm details of their income and circumstances. This information is necessary to determine whether claimants have received the correct amount of tax credits in the tax year just ended. Tax credits customers can complete the process by returning the annual declaration and renewal forms or by calling the tax credits Helpline, usually by 31 July. Detailed information can be found on the Department's website at
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits/index.htm
	Underpayments are calculated automatically and any amount still due is paid as a lump sum after a tax credits award is finalised and the customer is informed of the amount on their final award notice.

Departmental Contracts

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which services his Department has outsourced in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The provision for UK based language training for Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officers was outsourced in 2007 after the completion of a tender process in accordance with Government guidelines. A framework agreement was signed with 15 providers. Within the framework, each newly commissioned course is subject to competition between these providers.
	Information and data covering the FCO's global outsourcing of services is not held centrally and could, therefore, be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Family Proceedings: Legal Aid

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what impact assessment his Department undertook before taking the decision to reduce the family legal aid budget; and what the outcomes of that assessment were;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effects on the Department for Children, Schools and Families' long-term expenditure commitments of his Department's decision to reduce the budget for family legal aid;
	(3)  what discussions he had with Treasury Ministers before the decision was taken to reduce the family legal aid budget.

Bridget Prentice: We have not reduced the family legal aid budget. The cost of family legal aid increased by 46 per cent. from £399 million in 2001-02 to £582 million in 2007-08, while the number of funding certificates fell by 11 per cent., from 129,000 to 115,000 over the same period. We clearly stated our intention to make reforms to family fees in 'Legal Aid Reform: The Way Ahead', published in November 2006, following Lord Carter's review of legal aid procurement. The 'Way Ahead' proposals were subject to Cabinet committee clearance and were integral to MOJ's spending review settlement.
	My noble Friend, Lord Bach, announced changes to the Family Graduated Fee Scheme for barristers in February, following a 30 per cent. rise in costs in just five years. The consultation response included a full impact assessment. More recently, the consultation, 'Family Legal Aid Funding from 2010', published by my Department and the Legal Services Commission, closed on 3 April 2009. The Legal Services Commission is currently analysing the responses. The consultation covers two payment schemes, the 'Private Family Law Representation Scheme', and the 'Family Advocacy Scheme', which will cover representation by solicitors and counsel in independent practice. This consultation document included a draft impact assessment.
	Our aim is to help as many people as possible within existing resources. In both cases the impact assessments have demonstrated that failing to address the significant increases in fees paid in recent years could risk leading to reductions in services for clients.

Police: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many  (a) police officers and  (b) civilian staff of each (i) age group and (ii) sex were employed by Essex police in (A) 2007, (B) 2008 and (C) 2009 to date;
	(2)  how many  (a) police officers and  (b) civilian staff were employed by Essex Police Authority in (i) 2007, (ii) 2008 and (iii) to date in 2009, broken down by (A) age and (B) sex.

Vernon Coaker: The information collected centrally shows the number of police officers and civilian staff employed by Essex police on 31 March 2007 and 31 March 2008, broken down by four age groups (25 and under; 26 to 40; 41 to 55; and over 55) and sex. It is shown in the following table. Corresponding figures for 31 March 2009 will be available when the National Statistics bulletin Police Service Personnel, England and Wales, 31 March 2009, is published on 23 July 2009.
	Separate figures for officers and staff employed by Essex police authority are not collected centrally. 
	
		
			  Number of police officers and staff employed by Essex police: 2007-08 
			   Age group (HC)   Gender (FTE)  
			   25 and under  25-40  41-55  Over 55  Total (HC)( 1)  Male  Female  Total (FTE)( 1) 
			  31 March 2007 
			 Police officers 517 1592 1267 21 3397 2480 860 3340 
			 Police staff(2) 374 749 939 550 2612 948 1434 2382 
			  31 March 2008 
			 Police officers 527 1686 1209 23 3445 2479 906 3385 
			 Police staff(2) 391 802 954 594 2741 989 1512 2501 
			 (1) Age group figures presented in terms of head-count (HC) as the more commonly used full time equivalent (FTE) measures not collected. (2) Police staff figures include police community support officers, designated officers and traffic wardens.

Departmental Logos

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for North East Hertfordshire of 31 October 2006,  Official Report, column 323W, on departmental branding, what the Cabinet Office's policy is on the  (a) re-use and  (b) disposal of departmental-branded goods which become out of date following machinery of Government changes; and in what manner the sign of the Deputy Prime Minister's Office was disposed of.

Tom Watson: The Cabinet Office logo is used as a corporate image and is included on the majority of material produced by the Department. Wherever possible the Department would make use of any branded material that was outdated, or recycle any items that could not be reused.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government have confirmed that the sign of the Deputy Prime Minister's Office was given to my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull, East (Mr. Prescott) when he left office. The used value of the sign was minimal.